The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining an arrival time associated with a synchronization burst.
In many GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) implementations, a mobile station may need to determine the arrival time of a synchronous burst provided by a base terminal. For example, the mobile station may use the arrival times of synchronization bursts from two different base terminal stations to determine an observed time difference (OTD) that may be used to determine the location of the mobile station. One of the base terminal stations may be in a serving cell relative to the mobile station while the other base terminal station may in a neighbor cell relative to the mobile station.
Unfortunately, noise and other co-channel interference may make it difficult for the mobile station to determine the arrival time accurately for the synchronization burst, particularly when the synchronization burst is provided by a base terminal station operating in a different cell than the mobile station.
It would be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus that enabled a mobile station to determine an accurate arrival time for a synchronization burst.